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A 29-year-old man visiting from Youngstown died on a South Linden stoop on Monday afternoon.

Brian Austin Jr. was identified by Columbus police yesterday as the victim in the shooting at
1624 E. 25th Ave.

Detectives said Austin was shot inside the duplex and collapsed while running outside.

Austin’s mother, Stacia Baxter, said by telephone from Youngstown that her son had studied
business at Ohio State University for three years but didn’t earn a degree. He still had friends in
Columbus, and his father lives here, so he drove to visit a few times a month, Baxter said. “He was
an amazing person. He was very good with people. ... He just had a heart of gold.”

Austin had arrived in Columbus on Sunday night. She said she thinks she knows who shot her son: “
I think it was just a person who he thought was his friend but really wasn’t his friend.”

Police have not released a motive or identified suspects, but have asked anyone with information
to call the homicide squad at 614-645-4730.